Sky Map

Read the sky through your phone

Sky Map is a mobile star chart for identifying what is above you. Point your phone toward the sky and it uses the device’s sensors to show nearby stars, planets, constellations and other celestial objects. It suits beginners who want help recognizing the night sky, as well as casual stargazers who need a quick reference outdoors.

A practical reference tool

The app keeps its main task clear: matching the screen with the part of the sky you are viewing. You can search for a particular object and follow directional guidance to locate it. Time Travel lets you explore how the sky appears at another time, which is useful when planning an observation or understanding why an object is not visible right now.

• Switch between viewing layers such as planets, constellations and deep-sky objects.
• Use the phone’s compass and location sensors to orient the map.
• Search for named celestial objects instead of scanning the whole display.

Simple by design

Sky Map uses a functional interface rather than a heavily styled one. Controls are built around toggles and straightforward map viewing, so the app is easy to consult in low light. It is more focused on identification than on long scientific explanations, making it a useful companion to a book or a first step into astronomy rather than a complete astronomy course.

Track record

Sky Map is developed by Sky Map Devs and is maintained as an open-source project. It has a rating of 4.09 from 487,005 reviews and has passed 50,000,000 installs. Those figures place it among the more established reference apps for people who want to connect a screen-based chart with the real sky.